Public hearing set on proposed Wheatfield apartment complex

By Benjamin Joe

Patty Bordonaro has lived at her home for 30 years – and she was not happy to discover the woods in back could soon be razed to the ground and replaced by a two- or three-story apartment building, if the Wheatfield Planning Board approves the project.

She said the lack of solitude, as well as the displacement of woods bordering the property, would leave any homeowner dismayed.

“It’s a privacy issue,” Bordonaro said. “I’m in my pool every day. … We came here because it was wooded and we loved having the woods back here. We moved here because it was the way it is. We chose it the way it is.”

The developer is Edge Development LLC, owned by Bill Burke, and according to Planning Board Chair Susan Agnello-Eberwein, the real-estate development firm may be successful in securing the necessary permits for the project in a matter of months after the board saw the final site plan and did its due diligence.

“If they should have their final site plan and all the engineering forwarded to us by the end of April, then we start doing our digging in,” Agnello-Eberwein said.

According to a site plan released by Edge Development, the project would encompass approximately 10 acres in the proximity of Niagara Falls Boulevard and would comprise three multifamily, two-story buildings that would hold 60 apartments altogether.

Edge Development LLC, represented by attorney Sean Hopkins, released the timeline of the project, stretching back to August 2024 when it submitted a sketch plan, into September when letters to neighboring property owners were sent out to hold a neighborhood informational meeting, and then another meeting in January 2025.

Through those meetings, which Hopkins said were “productive and informative,” the original sketch plan was changed from 80 to 60 units and three-story to two-story buildings; a proposed dog park was moved further away from abutting neighbors; a fire pit, pickleball courts and fitness center were eliminated from the plans; and a proposed sidewalk along the existing driveway was added.

“The project team has made a concerted effort to incorporate input from residents and the Planning Board during the lengthy review process to date, and has voluntarily made substantial modifications to the project layout for the purpose of achieving its goal of a successful project that is the result of a collaborative planning process,” Hopkins said later in a statement.

He also confirmed that $180,000 would be added to the coffers of the town, county and school district. As for privacy, Hopkins pointed to the inclusion of evergreen trees between the buildings and the existing residential lots.

But Bordonaro and others, who would not give their names for publication, are not impressed by the seemingly accommodating concessions.

She speculated the developer never intended to build three-story buildings, or a fitness center, and made its sketch plan with every intention to seem cooperative and convince her, other neighbors, and the Planning Board that it would listen to concerns from the community.

“No apartments that I’ve ever seen has a fitness center or pickleball courts. They would make no money out of that,” she said. “I think it was a tactic to use where they say, ‘We’ll take these away.’ Now they look like they’re understanding.”

In a second statement, Hopkins refuted that notion.

“Those amenities were planned, but the only feasible location was close to the rear property of the very deep parcels on Crescent,” he said. “My client has been completely transparent and would strongly prefer the original layout. Nonetheless, my client has a record of working with stakeholders to try and address their concerns. The three-story building that would result in much higher, but permitted, building height and density and would make the final project worth several million dollars more, so this is not a small potential concession.”

At the moment, Bordonaro, the Planning Board and Edge Development are looking at the existing driveway that runs into Canterbury Gardens directly south of the proposed project.

According to Hopkins and information from the sketch plan, the driveway is usable and not in need of repairs. He noted that, if the company were to sink a large investment into the driveway, the three-story buildings might be needed to offset the cost.

“It’s not a threat; it’s just a reality,” he told this reporter.

A public hearing on the matter will be held March 19 at Town of Wheatfield Town Hall.